Albanian Language Media:

• President Thaci's office comments on Jamaica recognition issue (media)
• Konjufca says measures will be taken about Jamaica recognition news (Koha)
• MP Pacolli demands accountability from Amb Citaku on Jamaica recognition (media)
• Tahiri: Decision to annul notaries' appointment process, arbitrary (media)
• LVV MP: After dismissals, accountability in front of justice (ekonomiaonline)

Serbian Language Media:

• Draft recommendations for EU enlargement outlined in European Parliament (N1, Hina)
• Survey in multi-ethnic municipalities: Reconciliation needed for the vast majority but the north (KoSSev)
• Jamaica's foreign minister denies recognition of Kosovo (KoSSev, RTS, Blic)
• Dacic: Tirana and Pristina to give up campaign to lobby for recognition of Kosovo (Blic, N1)
• Thaci for BBC in Serbian: If we waste this opportunity, we will cry at the gates of Brussels (Kosovo Online, Danas, B92) 
• Kenya will not change stance on Kosovo (RTV Puls)
• US Ambassador Godfrey says Grenell will continue as Kosovo envoy (Beta, N1)

International:

• Albania PM Widens His Media Wars to Include Kosovo (Balkan Insight)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Kosovo National Football Team Signs First Serb Player (Balkan Insight)

   

Albanian Language Media

  President Thaci's office comments on Jamaica recognition issue (media)

The Office of Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, reacted to Jamaica's foreign minister dismissing reports that her country has recognised independence of Kosovo.

"The Office of the President of the Republic of Kosovo was notified last night officially by Kosovo's Ambassador in Washington, Vlora Citaku, about the recognition from the state of Jamaica. The ambassador sent the same notification to the Office of Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs," the president's office stated instructing the media to approach the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more information.

Earlier, Thaci announced that he was notified by Kosovo's Ambassador to the U.S. Vlora Citaku that Jamaica has recognised Kosovo as an independent and sovereign country. The move was hailed by other Kosovo leaders including Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Foreign Minister Glauk Konjufca and Assembly Speaker Vjosa Osmani.

Konjufca says measures will be taken about Jamaica recognition news (Koha)

Kosovo's Foreign Minister Glauk Konjufca reacted to the news regarding recognition of Kosovo by Jamaica, which was later refuted by the country's foreign minister.

In a Facebook post, Konjufca said that the Ministry was informed by Kosovo's Ambassador to the U.S., Vlora Citaku, through e-mail about Jamaica recognising Kosovo as an independent state. He said in the professional aspect, official information of an ambassador are considered to be accurate and trustworthy.

"We are in continuous contact with our Embassy in the U.S., to clarify the created situation. As Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, following review of the situation, I will very soon undertake measures in line with everyone's responsibility," Konjufca wrote.

MP Pacolli demands accountability from Amb Citaku on Jamaica recognition (media)

Vetevendosje Movement MP, Fitore Pacolli, said that if the news regarding Jamaica's recognition of Kosovo is established to be inaccurate, Kosovo's Ambassador to the U.S. Vlora Citaku who gave the news first, should be held accountable. 

"Kosovo now needs competent, professional, responsible ambassadors that serve the country's best interests. We do not need ambassadors who spread false information. If the news about Jamaica's recognition is really not true, Ambassador Citaku should be immediately dismissed and be held accountable," Pacolli wrote on social media.

Tahiri: Decision to annul notaries' appointment process, arbitrary (media)

Former Minister of Justice, Abelard Tahiri, reacted to the decision of his successor, Albulena Haxhiu, to annul the process for appointment of new notaries.

Tahiri said such a decision is arbitrary and has no legal basis. He said the annulment of the process will produce legal and administrative consequences "as it constitutes a flagrant violation of rights enjoyed by the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo."

Yesterday, Haxhiu announced the decision to annul the appointment of the notaries citing lack of transparency and legality in the process. “I cannot move forward with a compromised process,” Haxhiu said.

LVV MP: After dismissals, accountability in front of justice (ekonomiaonline)

Vetvendosje Movement (LVV) MP Hajrulla Ceku told ekonomiaonline that the dismissal of the Telekom Board is only the beggining and that they will proceed with dismissals at other agencies and public enterprises. He said the dismissal of the Telekom Board came based on the report of the auditor.

He added that the next step will be accountability, in order for the findings not to end up only with dismissals but also with initiation of adequate procedures at justice institutions.

Asked about the call of the opposition for an extraordinary Assembly session about the tariff, Ceku said that it is a legitimate right of the MPs to call a session and added that if the required number of signatures is collected, the session will be held. “As LVV parliamentary group, we will respond to all invitations for discussion and public debate at the parliament,” Ceku said.

Asked about the reciprocity measures Ceku said that currently an analysis is being drafted to set the pillars and grounds of reciprocity policy. “This was requested by the government, and the Prime Minister and a group of experts are working on analysis and the moment this analysis reaches the government, the PM will have a clearer idea about when to start materializing this policy,” Ceku said. 

   

Serbian Language Media

  Draft recommendations for EU enlargement outlined in European Parliament (N1, Hina)

Croatian member of the European Parliament Tonino Picula, who serves as the EP rapporteur for recommendations on the Western Balkans, on Thursday informed the EP Committee on Foreign Affairs of his draft of recommendations for enlargement to the Western Balkans.

The draft proposes the opening of accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania soon, and liberalisation of the visa regime for Kosovo citizens.

Also, the Western Balkan aspirants are supposed to step up the prosecution of war crimes and the resolution of the issue of persons who went missing during the wars in the 1990s.

The European Parliament proposes that decisions on accession-related issues be made by a qualified majority, while unanimous decisions should be required when the Council of the EU okays the opening and closing of accession negotiations.

Picula's report is expected to be put on the European Parliament agenda in time for adoption at a plenary meeting in April.

The draft recommendations will be sent to the Council, the Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the Western Balkans, in the run-up to the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Zagreb in May.

See at: https://bit.ly/2SJqVmm Survey in multi-ethnic municipalities: Reconciliation needed for the vast majority but the north (KoSSev)

In a recent United Nations Development Programme study carried out in seven Kosovo multi-ethnic municipalities, 88% of respondents said they believe reconciliation in Kosovo is necessary. According to the UNDP, this is „a promising indicator of willingness to reconcile“, however, other figures say otherwise, as 60% of citizens of North Mitrovica believe that reconciliation is not necessary.

Study findings show that people in Serb majority municipalities in Kosovo, except for Strpce, are less likely to feel comfortable in multi-ethnic environment. While 79% of Kosovo Albanians at least somewhat agree that reconciliation is possible in Kosovo, less than half of Kosovo Serbs (47%) believe the same. According to almost half (48%) of respondents, inter-ethnic relations in Kosovo are friendly, while only 13% of Kosovo Serbs share this opinion. Indeed, 36% of Kosovo Serbs consider the relations between different ethnicities in Kosovo as tense compared to 10% of Kosovo Albanians and none of Kosovo’s other communities who share the same opinion.

See more at: https://bit.ly/39PoyUL Jamaica's foreign minister denies recognition of Kosovo (KoSSev, RTS, Blic)

Jamaica's foreign minister, Kamina Johnson Smith, has denied Hashim Thaci's allegations that the state has recognized Kosovo's independence.

Yesterday, Kosovo President Hashim Thaci posted on Twitter that Jamaica has recognized Kosovo's independence.

He said he was informed of the recognition by Kosovo Ambassador to the US, Vlora Qitaku, and that "yesterday's recognition was the result of hard work and years of lobbying, including by Congressman Eliot Engel."

However, the very next day, these allegations were denied by Jamaica's Foreign Minister, Kamina Johnson Smith.

"To date, Jamaica has not recognized Kosovo as an independent state," she said in a Twitter post.

In addition to the Kosovo president, gratitude to Jamaica and the leadership of this country was also expressed by the Kosovo's Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, yesterday.

The last country to recognize Kosovo was Barbados back in February 2018, and before that Madagascar in November 2017, according to Kosovo MFA that was the 116th country.

On the other hand, Serbia has been actively lobbying for the past few years to prevent further recognition, but also for the withdrawal of Kosovo's recognition from those countries that have already done so, with the promise of Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic that this number would drop below 100, and that then would continue. Thus, according to data from the Serbian MFA, 17 countries have already done so. The last case was the Republic of Nauru last November.

Dacic: Tirana and Pristina to give up campaign to lobby for recognition of Kosovo (Blic, N1)

Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister Ivica Dacic told Belgrade-based daily Blic that he expects leading Western countries to pressure Pristina and Tirana to abandon the joint campaign to lobby for international recognition for Kosovo, which Albanian Foreign Affairs Minister Gent Cekaj announced earlier.

“I expect the major Western countries, the same one who are pressuring us to abandon our campaign to withdraw recognition of Kosovo, to exert the same pressure on Pristina and Tirana to give up their idea,” Dacic said. 

Dacic emphasised that “this is the only kind of step that would be principled and responsible”, adding he does not hope it would happen.

“What Pristina and Tirana are planning to do is their desperate attempt to respond to the fact that less than half of UN member states have recognized Kosovo and that no new country has recognized it for years nor has it become a member of any major international organization,” Dacic noted.

Thaci for BBC in Serbian: If we waste this opportunity, we will cry at the gates of Brussels, but no one will worry about it (Kosovo Online, Danas, B92) 

If something happens in the negotiations with Serbia, it will happen this year, if it does not happen this year, I am afraid we will lose decades, Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said in an interview with the BBC in Serbian, Serbian media quotes. 

According to the BBC, although other negotiators say there is no pressure and haste, Thaci explains that the final year of President Donald Trump's first term in office is the best time to reach a deal in the Balkans.

"I don't think we will be able to get the attention of President Trump, the US and his team again. This return of US attention to our region is a gift from God for both Kosovo and Serbia - we must use that," he said.

BBC in Serbian language recalls that Thaci was also a participant in the Brussels talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, led by the previous convocation of the European Commission, which have not yet reached a final agreement, but a series of agreements were reached of which some have been implemented. Hashim Thaci's experience in negotiating with Serbia has been numbered for decades, back from 1999 when he emerged as one of the leaders of the Rambouillet delegation as one of the leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

"We have never been closer to an agreement because many other processes have come to an end - Kosovo is free and independent, and Serbia knows about Kosovo's independence. At the same time, we are very far away - it will depend a lot on the leaders of both countries, whether they will invest in the future or will remain hostage to the past," said Thaci. 

BBC states that he spoke with Aleksandar Vucic from a presidency position in the talks led by former Commissioner Federica Mogherini, but that the two met in different international forums and when the talks allegedly did not exist.

"I have no special, personal relationship with President Vucic - we are the presidents of independent states, elected in a legitimate way, and I promote my country's views in every forum and in front of all officials, including the president of Serbia. We have had differences in the past, they still exist today, but this should not stop us as two presidents to talk about the future," Thaci said.

He believes that in the future, neither Kosovo nor Serbia can count on EU membership without a final agreement.

"If we waste this opportunity, we will cry at the gates of Brussels, but no one will worry about it or be interested," he concludes.

Kenya will not change stance on Kosovo (RTV Puls)

Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs State Secretary Ababu Namwamba said yesterday in Belgrade that Kenya will not change its stance of Kosovo and Metohija, RTV Puls reports.

He added, he condemns any sort of violation of the international law.

As the statement from the Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs noted, Minister Dacic said that Serbia greatly appreciates support of Kenya on the matters of preserving Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty with full respect of the basic principles of the international law.

The two officials also agreed it is necessary to advance the cooperation among the two countries in all areas of mutual interest, the statement said. Dacic also said Serbia attaches great importance to the cooperation with Africans states since the establishment of the Non-Alignment Movement and wishes to additionally advance cooperation with all the countries on the African continent.

US Ambassador Godfrey says Grenell will continue as Kosovo envoy (Beta, N1)

US Ambassador to Serbia Anthony Godfrey said on Friday that Ambassador Richard Grenell will continue in his role as the American president’s special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue after being appointed Acting Director of National Intelligence.

“I spoke to Ambassador Grenell yesterday and he was very excited to be able to continue in his role, especially now that as a cabinet member he can have even more influence and can devote himself to the job with even greater energy,” Godfrey is quoted as telling reporters in the city of Kragujevac. 

Godfrey added that Grenell will continue to focus on economic development and concrete issues, leaving political issues aside.  

Earlier, Ambassador Grenell confirmed in a Twitter post that he would not be in his new post permanently.

See at: https://bit.ly/3bZc52z    

International

  Albania PM Widens His Media Wars to Include Kosovo (Balkan Insight)

After repeatedly tussling with critical media voices in his home country, Albania, Prime Minister Edi Rama has now extended his ire to media in neighbouring Kosovo, calling them vulgar, defamatory and short-sighted.

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo, AJK, has criticised Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama for posting his agreement on Facebook with an Albanian academic who has accused Kosovo media outlets of spreading hate speech against Albania.

“I found it impossible not to share it with you,” Rama wrote, on Tuesday, referring to Rexhep Qosja’s earlier post, which accused the media outlets T7 and Gazeta Express of spreading “chauvinist hatred against Albania”.

See at: tps://bit.ly/2V9c2LHht    

Humanitarian/Development

  Kosovo National Football Team Signs First Serb Player (Balkan Insight)

Seventeen-year-old Ilija Ivic, from the mainly Serbian town of Gracanica, near the capital, Pristina, is set to become the first Kosovo Serb footballer on the national team in its under-19 squad, after accepting the invitation.

Ivic received the invitation from the team coach, Ramiz Krasniqi, as it attempts to bounce back from a disastrous campaign to qualify for the UEFA EURO U19 Championship, failing to qualify with only one point in three matches.

See at: https://bit.ly/32eCiWp